I need to call my barefoot ferrier to ask her again what the transition phase is when removing shoes on a horse who always wore shoes.

 I have recently removed the rear shoes so he could go into pasture, and today he felt a bit off.

 Anyone know and can post that would be cool.  I will follow up with my findings later.

 Regards,

Eric

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Love Horses...Magical Creatures

Hi Eric,

I think it depends greatly on the particular horse and what sort of hooves they have.  I have heard some horses may take up to a year to transition, others may be fine right after the shoes are first pulled off!  I should think your hoof trimmer is familiar with your horse's hooves and should be able to tell you what she expects from her.  I would also think the transition time would be affected by the environment your horse is in.  Is the pasture wet/muddy or dry?  Where do you ride--is it in an arena with deep, soft footing or on trail where there are rocks?  Ok, so I guess this may not have helped you, but I hope it's given you some factors to think about.  Let us know what you find out from your hoof trimmer, and good luck!

Johanna

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Valor is the love of my life!

When I retired my TB geld. we pulled his hind shoes & then the front shoes 6 mos. later. He's in a grass pasture, so after about 2 months his hind feet were fine. He's a bit ouchy on rocks, but sand, gravel, pavement and DG are OK. When we pulled his front shoes it took about 3 months for him to get used to it, but he can buck and gallop and doesn't hurt at all. I think it really depends on the horse, environment, shape of hoof, etc. I was at the Equine Affaire this past weekend & heard a farrier say it takes about 3 shoeings to see any significant difference & 1 year for a hoof to completely change. Dunno if that helps, but there ya have it.

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Cowgirl Up!

Yes...spoke to my barefoot ferrier who cares for my daughters lease horse, and she did say my horse will be a short transition having the rear shoes just removed. 

To answer some previous questions:

 Pasture is dry, but also muddy in some places.  Mostly after a few days of sunshine, the majority of the pasture is dry.  It's a nice footing in the pasture.

The trails are hard pack normally, and the arenas are soft sand. 

I am doing both arena work and trails. 

For the time being, I am going to take it slow, and just get my horse used to this new barn for him, and the surround areas....so mostly lots of walking.

My ferrier thinks his front shoes can come off too after two or three more trims.

Thanks for all your input, I will keep everyone posted on his progress and challenges.

Best regards,

 Eric

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Love Horses...Magical Creatures

To follow up to my previous post, tonight is day 8 in the pasture with no rear horse-shoes.  This evening my horse was showing heavy signs of soreness....lameness...whatever...he was definately not looking good at the trot at all!  Very timid and off balance...like a limp. 

Luckily, my barefoot trimmer is coming Sunday to work on our other leased horse who is all barefoot.  I will have her check out my big boy.

I was hoping for some trail rides this weekend, but I am now thinking to skip it and just do simple walking around.

Problem is, new to the pasture and my horse fell in love with another horse.  Each day my horse has been hesitating a little more each time I try to walk him out of the pasture.  This evening he was the worst after three straight days in the pasture without me coming by.  He actually stopped and would not walk.  I kept him moving in circles and did get him to come with this encouragement. 

Any suggestions?

Eric

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Love Horses...Magical Creatures

what about just bribing him with grain.  Then he will look forward to seeing you?  Maybe that is just wishful thinking.  How long has your horse been in his new pasture?  About sore feet it can take awhile to toughen them up.  I also understand that they do have rubber shoes.  The ferrier will use a special glue for them. you may want to try that if needed. We board horses and I know that there is a period of adjustment for them to settle down.  That is very common.  let me know how it goes.  Good luck, Sue

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Ride forever!

Update to the daily's......

 Today was a great day....horse was completely different than last night and feeling back to normal.  We did have a bit of a struggle getting out of the pasture, but not really a big deal.  I don't like bringing food into the pasture, because I don't want to attract the other horses....it can get a little crazy.

So I had my horse out of the pasture pretty much all day.  Grooming, 2 hour trail ride, cleanup etc....then back into the pasture.  The vet showed up about an hour after that so had to get him out again and no problem at all.  I think it's just habit forming to hang out in the pasture, and I am sure with time he will get to trust that he WILL be returned to the pasture.

Thanks for listening....I know I may be rambling a bit!

Happy horsing!

Eric 

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Love Horses...Magical Creatures

That is really cool, I am glad it seems to be working out for you. It sounds like you have figured it out.  I do know what you mean when you bring a grain bucket out to a pasture with other horses. It can get pretty crazy.

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Ride forever!

Transitioning working well......had the barefoot trimmers look at him today and they noticed two absess's ....one on each rear hoof in the same spot...they already had opened, and that is why they think he was a bit tender Friday night.

They cut out his bars on his rear hoof underside so the pressure was more equal around the rim of his hoof, and this makes the underside of his hoof more concave...hollowed out. 

I think I have a photo to show you what I mean about the bars under his hoofs....let me try to download.

Nope...won't paste here...but I will put the photo of his bars before cutting them on my site.  Look at the left side of the photo just above the thumb....the high ridge on both sides.

Happy trails.

Eric

 

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Love Horses...Magical Creatures

sdcfish wrote:

 

DON'T GIVE UP - Transition is the time it takes for your horse's hoofs to heal and recover.  It can take weeks, months, or up to a year.  I pulled Red's shoes 1 year ago and he is just about fully transitioned.  I prolonged things by continuing with a traditional farrier who kept giving him pasture trims - cutting his hoofs FLAT as if preparing him for shoes.

 

Here are ideas to move through transition:

 

1.  NEVER let anyone trim off the developing toe callous.

2.  Provide pea gravel in a corner of your horse's pasture, paddock.

3.  Get hoof boots for transition - I love my Easy Boot Epics.

 

4.  Read Pete Ramey's book and read articles on his website

http://www.hoofrehab.com/

 

 

Good Luck - it is SO worth it!!!

Cherie 

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The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horses's ears - Arabian Proverb